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Heads Up: 8 must-see concerts this week

It really just so happens that a few of this week’s obligatory shows are at club nights (Jel, Friendzone, and Antwon at Future Perfect, Yalls at Push the Feeling) featured in last month’s post-everything cover story, my article profiling local experimental party curators.

What’s more, there are other shows in this stretch that recall the vibes of those featured: great lineups with weird, beats-plus-chords, hi-fi meets lo-fi, robot with a heart of gold overarching themes (Maus Haus and more at Rickshaw, Owen Ashworth’s Advance Base at Café Du Nord).

And then there are your classic rock’n’rollers; we’ve got some of those for you too – it’s just a banner batch all around this time, folks.

Here are your must-see Bay Area concerts this week/end:

Tim CohenScruffy singer-songwriter Tim Cohen, of popular local psych-garage band the Fresh & Onlys, is about to release his second full-length under the solo Magic Trick moniker, the lush and folky Ruler of the Night (Hardly Art, June 12) – an album that somehow weaves in synth, surf guitar, back-up vocals from the Aislers Set's Noelle Cahill and Alicia Van Heuvel, and surreal beats. Plus, this show is totally free. Rather hard to resist. With Survival Guide, 8th GradersTue/5, 9pm, freeBrick and Mortar Music Hall 1710 Mission, SF(415) 371-1631 www.brickandmortarmusic.com

Nick Waterhouse “The retro-minded songwriter-arranger-producer crafts perfect little tributes to the punchy 1950s R&B sounds he’s been drawn to since he was a kid, all steeped with an endearing reverence for old-school record culture and recording techniques.” – Landon MobladWed/6, $12 sold out Verdi Club2424 Mariposa, SF(415) 861-9199 www.verdiclub.net

Maus Haus, Mwahaha, Exray’s, Devonwho It's rare to find a set of bands so thoroughly watchable as this lineup at the Rickshaw Stop. Let's break it down. There's Maus Haus (always a futuristic digi-treat), psych-rockers Mwahaha, along with producer Devonwho, who recently remixed "Ancient Thing," a song by the last piece in this awesome post-modern puzzle: Exray's. The single is a cut from the upcoming Exray's dystopian electro-pop record Trust a Robot, out June 26 on Howells Transmitter.Fri/8, $10155 Fell, SFwww.rickshawstop.com

Jel Anticon-co-founder, rapper, and producer Jel is known for creating drum beats with little or no sequencing – as in, playing the drums live via sampler pads, and killing it. His hands disappear over those illuminated little squares, and fresh beats emerge, seemingly effortlessly (though we all know the precision and sweat likely involved). Future Perfect with GuMMy Bear, Antwon, Friendzone, JaycasioFri/8, 10pm, $5Public Works 161 Erie, SFwww.publicsf.com

Balkan Beat Box at Israel in the GardensAn Israeli dude walking along the boardwalk of a somewhat scuzzy coastal beach town — maybe like the dark vision of Santa Cruz in Lost Boys — with a boombox on his shoulder, blasting classic hip-hop and bouncy dancehall beats, passes a world music trio performing Mediterranean and Balkan roots music on percussion and hot brass with a whirling dervish spinning out front. They all collide, and out comes Balkan Beat Box. Sun/10, 11am festival, 3pm performance; free Yerba Buena Gardens750 Howard, SFwww.jewishfed.orgFacebook: Israel in the Gardens 2012